When it comes to dog training and animal behavior organizations, it’s easy to get lost in the acronyms. I know about the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) because I am a member — no, I’m not a dog trainer, but I sometimes play one on my blog — and I know that CDPTs are…
Happy Birthday, Petfinder!
Once upon a time, pets in animal shelters were considered inferior, tainted. After all, if they were good dogs and cats, they would be in loving homes, wouldn’t they? Over the past 15 years, Petfinder.com has been a tremendous force in disproving that notion, educating people that adopting a shelter animal is not about pity…
Hamsters, the ASPCA & the Elusiveness of Memory
We all have stories about our past that become part of our repertoire, the set pieces we haul out when there’s an awkward silence at a party, say, or when we want to put others at ease by being self-deprecating, amusing, relatable… One of my favorites has always been the tale of my childhood hamsters,…
Food & Dogs
It’s been a busy week Chez Frankie. Food I’m on the Culinary Commmittee for the Tucson Festival of Books, a mega-literary event that spreads out over the weekend of March 12 and 13. I’m also on two panels, a speaker on “The Critics Table: The Power of the Restaurant Review” and moderator of “Food Writing…
Pet Adoption Videos That Don’t Make Me Want to Kill Myself, #7
I like this blog to be fair and balanced, and I’ve been dissing Canada — well, specifically Ontario — for its pitbull ban. AJ, who guest-authored the post, pointed out in the comments that Winnipeg has a ban on bully breeds too. So I’d like to prove that Winnipeg has powerful animal defenders, some with…
Another reason to brush your dog’s teeth
This blog may be a guilt-free zone, but I also try to be honest here. In the interests of providing a cautionary tale… let the self-flagellation begin. In honor of National Pet Dental Health Month, I recently blogged about how essential it was to get your dog’s teeth checked professionally, especially small dogs who are…
Et Tu, Canada? Ontario’s Province-Wide Breed Ban
I recently blogged about Breed Specific Legislation — I prefer the term Breed Discriminatory Laws as more accurate — in the U.S.: Let’s Call Breed Bans What They Are: Death Sentences. Several people wrote to inform me that Canada had similar laws, so I looked into it. Jeez. I tend to think of Canada as…
Hotel Pet Policies: Clueless in SoCal
Last week a longtime hotel GM provided first-hand testimony that dogs and their people make excellent guests. A few weeks before, I discussed — and got terrific feedback on — 9 Things that Make a Hotel Genuinely Pet Friendly. Today I want to give an example of a place where Frankie and I stayed that…
Pet Adoption Videos That Don’t Make Me Want To Kill Myself, #6
Brought to you by the Shelter Pet Project, which has an amazingly creative site, featuring the dog in this video as spokesdog. This may be the funniest one in the adoption series — as opposed to the spay/neuter series — so far, though the practice it depicts is awful and all too common. What do…
Selling Live Animals Online? Tell eBay No Way!
Several people have been blogging about how eBay has weaseled out of its promise not to sell puppies and kittens and other live animals online by shutting down its auctions but letting the abhorrent practice in through the back door of its classified ads. Here’s a sampling of the posts: Felissa Hadas at Two Little…